With the recent data and privacy changes, marketers are recognizing the importance of owned marketing. However, a critical piece of owned marketing is proper segmentation and personalization on channels like email and SMS, which occurs from collecting what is called “zero-party data.”
Using zero-party data, brands can continue the same amount of personalization that was possible prior to recent data and privacy changes.
So what is it?
Zero-party data is data that a customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand (Salesforce). Data can include a customer’s preferences, needs, their name, their size, or any information they choose to provide.
But, how do brands actually collect data intentionally from customers? Simple: through an amazing on-site experience that encourages customers to share information in order to improve their shopping experience.
Keep your marketing superpowers—while providing a better shopping experience
Customers who share zero-party data expect a better, more personalized experience in return.
But this data doesn’t just fall in the hands of marketers without any effort (no matter how much they wish it did). In order to reap the benefits of personalization, brands have to have the technology to collect zero-party data to begin with.
The best way to collect zero-party customer data is with an on-site quiz experience.
The benefits of on-site quizzes for today's brands
At face value, a quiz provides a great experience for customers. It allows someone to select different answers, opt-in to marketing, and then receive personalized product recommendations.
Luckily, there are benefits on the brand’s side as well, which is that a quiz allows marketers and founders to collect zero-party data that organizes customers into buyer profiles and syncs directly to their owned marketing channels.
Phew—that was a lot of info. I’ll outline some key ways brands can leverage this customer data:
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Over time, more zero-party data collected through a Shop Quiz means more targeted personalization in owned marketing channels.
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When a new product launches, you can send an early access link over SMS to customers who have taken a product quiz and expressed interest before.
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Near the holidays, send an email to those who have taken a gift finder quiz and purchased a gift previously. Or, invite them to take your gift finder quiz for the first time to make gift shopping easier.
Now that you’ve learned what zero-party data is and its benefits, let’s dive into an example of a brand that’s crushing it with its quiz.
Doe Lashes: How to drive 3X more email opt-ins and personalize every flow
A great example of a brand taking advantage of zero-party data collection through a Shop Quiz is the fast-growing eyelash brand Doe Lashes.
Since launching their Lash Quiz, they’ve seen 24% of all revenue move through their quiz, 3x more email opt-ins than through a pop-up, plus 11%+ higher average order value in a quiz taker—all while collecting zero-party data that syncs directly into their owned marketing channels like Octane AI, Klaviyo, and Facebook Advertising.
“One of the best parts about Octane AI’s Shop Quiz is the ability to tag our customers within Klaviyo to create different segments that we can, in turn, build new automated drip campaigns and personalize our messaging towards,” said Jacob Sappington of Doe Lashes.
Beyond personalization within their owned marketing channels, Doe Lashes is also able to learn more about customers, which informs their overall strategy. Jacob explains this simply:
“One really incredible takeaway is that the Octane AI Quiz has allowed us to learn a key insight about our prospective customer that is informing a lot of our future customer acquisition strategy. We are seeing that over 35% of quiz takers have NEVER worn false eyelashes before. This is new information to us and shows that much of our new customers are experiencing false eyelashes for the very first time. We can lean into this insight and become a trusted source of education and information for a more timid, less-informed customer with the ultimate goal of Doe Lashes being their first and only lash brand.”
Want to dive into Doe Lashes' full quiz and personalization strategy? Check out our Doe Lashes case study!
The future of online shopping relies on zero-party data
The truth is, the world of online shopping consists of multiple channels that influence buying behaviors. From emails, to Instagram ads, and text messages, brands have the power to reach their target audience in more ways and at any moment.
But rather than guessing what products or messages customers enjoy, learn who your customers are by collecting zero-party data on their demographics, behaviors, likes, dislikes, pain points, and preferences.
Using this data, brands can segment every email, SMS and paid ad to ensure every message, recommendation, and event is extremely targeted and relevant to every individual—no matter what stage of the buyer’s journey they’re at.
Key takeaway: Setting up a strong system for collecting zero-party data is vital to protect against current and future data or privacy restrictions.
Tackle the new privacy changes with strategic shifts
It’s no secret that DTC brands rely heavily on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads as their main acquisition channels. So if the new iOS14 and Google privacy changes have you sweating, we get it.
We teamed up with Malomo, Fuel Made, Gorgias, and others to put together a strategic guide on navigating the new privacy changes—with six examples of ecommerce brands doing it well.
